Cordray, the CFPB, and Ohio Governor Ohio race

Bob Gorrell cartoon credit: ww: ff.org

If this report is confirmed, it’s a start. From Kemberlee Kaye at Legal Insurrection:

Richard Cordray, an Obama appointee and head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced to staff in an email Wednesday his plans to resign. While he’s yet to confirm his plans, there’s speculation Cordray will return home to run for Ohio’s governorship.

The CFPB functions as, “a regulator set up in response to the 2008 financial crisis to police mortgages, credit cards and other financial products,” and was the brainchild of Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Unlike other agencies, due to the unique circumstanced through which the CFPB was created (was part of Dodd-Frank in 2010), Cordray answered to no one. As the bureau’s director, Cordray controlled the budget (other federal entities are subject to Congressional budget allocation), and was subject to no term limits.

“We are long overdue for new leadership at the CFPB, a [rogue] agency that has done more [to] hurt consumers than help them. The extreme overregulation it imposes on our economy leads to higher costs and less access to financial products and services, particularly for Americans with lower incomes,” said House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Republican from Texas.

“Overdue for new leadership at the CFPB” at the CFPB? Sen. Hensarling, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the “rogue agency” altogether?

Full report is here.

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Primal Screams and Mass Hysteria

art credit: MaliaLitman.com

We all had a good laugh over the anti-Trump “Screaming Helplessly at The Sky” temper tantrums last week, but in a sense, the Scream Fests are not funny. There is something on the order of mass hysteria going on here. It's a year after the election, and adults are still stamping their feet and wearing stupid pink hats and screaming in genuine outrage.

I’ve come across a few think pieces on the phenomenon. Victor Davis Hanson examines the various “hysterias and frenzies” we have been witnessing:

Human nature is prone to a herd mentality and the politics of excess. Groupthink offers a sense of belonging and reinforcement to most people. Democracies in particular in their radical egalitarian culture and exalted sense of self-righteousness are particularly prone to shared frenzies. 

Richard Fernandez, Mr. Belmont Club, summed up his take on the Primal Scream-a-thon:

What they were mourning was not some conservative's sublunar fallibility, but their own. Whatever happens now, the progressives have lost decades of "gains," not to the alt-right, which is nothing special, but to the realization of their own human frailty. 

  

Last summer, Dilbert / Scott Adams wrote about the “mass hysteria bubble” and how he defines it:

if you are not experiencing mass hysteria, you might be totally confused by the actions of the people who are. They appear to be irrational, but in ways that are hard to define. You can’t tell if they are stupid, unscrupulous, ignorant, mentally ill, emotionally unstable or what. It just looks frickin’ crazy.

I thought I would post these links, since we live in crazy times, and maybe we are not the crazy ones. All three articles are worth the read.

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Veteran’s Day 2017

Saturday (tomorrow) is Veteran's Day.  Several weeks ago, CTP reader John Macky sent us links to his website, so I am pleased to include them here. From one of his posting at Veteran’s Day Guide:

Veterans Day is observed to honor all such war veterans who have put their lives at stake for the safety and freedom of their people. Celebrated on 11^th of November 2017, the Veterans Day is marked to celebrate war veterans who are alive; unlike Memorial Day which is observed to honor the members of the US Armed forces who have sacrificed their lives while fighting for their nation. . . .

  

Cleveland’s Veteran’s Day parade is scheduled to begin downtown at 12:30 midday on Saturday, Nov. 11 in front of City Hall, 601 Lakeside Ave. Details are here.

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More Media Fail: Trump in China

photo via @JonLemire

Remember when President Obama arrived in Beijing and the formal staircase failed to show up on the tarmac alongside Air Force One, and he was obliged to deplane through the service door at the back?  A not so subtle snub.  When President Trump and Melania arrived in Beijing the other day, not only was the rolling staircase there (see above), Sundance reports:

President Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet complete with marching band and joyful children for the arrival of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

The pageantry was the highest level China presents in public display honoring any visiting head of state; and U.S. Media never carried it. 

From DC Whispers: 

Chinese officials have shown the current POTUS every courtesy, including opening up the Forbidden City to him. This act itself is of great historic importance as it makes Mr. Trump the first American president to be allowed to dine in the Forbidden City since the creation of modern China.

To get a sense of the scope of the ceremonial details and show of great respect to President Trump, go to the Conservative Treehouse blogs – for example, here - for photos and videos that most of the media are not running (e.g. USA Media Ignores Historic Prime Time Broadcast of Official Beijing Welcome For President Trump…).

photo via conservative treehouse

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Scream Helplessly At The Sky Day Reports

Suppose they hosted a Scream-a-thon and nobody showed up. Well, hardly anyone. 

Yesterday was the anti-Trump “Scream Helplessly At The Sky Day” and reports have been slow to come in. PJ Media has some "entertaining" videos and photos here. The short video from Salt Lake City is posted by @ Liberal Logic, who wrote: "This whole "scream helplessly at the sky in anniversary of the election" thing is one of the funniest things I've seen #TrumpDerangementSyndrome." Reminded me of Baby Herman in Roger Rabbit:

@ www.tenor.co

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One Year Ago Today

Two and a half minutes of fun from the 2016 Election, via YouTube:

And earlier today, our President tweeted:

Congratulations to all of the ”DEPLORABLES” and the millions of people who gave us a MASSIVE (304-227) Electoral College landslide victory!

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Scream Helplessly At The Sky Day

 Slightly updated Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” at patriotretort.com

  

It’s today! Scream Helplessly At The Sky Day!

Background on this latest anti-Trump protest temper tantrum is at Newsbusters here.

Be sure to watch the short video (30 seconds is plenty!) at the above link for “some really helpless sky screaming from Inauguration Day which all the November 8 [today’s] event participants must measure their helpless sky screams against.”

The Boston Primal Scream Fest is scheduled for 6pm. There’s another one scheduled in Philadelphia. According to Debra Heine at PJ Media, “People who are unable to attend the screamfest in Philly are encouraged to ‘scream in solidarity’ in their own backyards.”

Hope to have a few photos and short videos later on.

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